July 2014

I’m so lost, people. I’m so lost because there weren’t any new iPhone part leaks overnight, so I have no idea what to write about now. Whatever, we’ll just do some news and try to put this all behind us…

The latest Apple TV rumour says we won’t be seeing a new model anytime soon. But the bad news doesn’t end there: now, we’re not even sure if Apple will release an update to the Apple TV in its current form or an entirely new TV set, as previous rumours have claimed. Whatever future the Apple TV holds, The Information tells us to not expect it in the near future, and definitely not this year.

With the current flip-flopping of Apple part rumours, sapphire is in one day, and out the next. Today is an out day, with AppleInsider citing production issues likely preventing the iPhone 6 from having a sapphire display. A report claims Apple would have shipped sapphire display covers to downstream manufacturers by now, which either points to an extremely delayed production timeframe or no sapphire displays at all. Meanwhile, Macworld explains why sapphire displays could be Apple’s next big thing, as a better alternative to plastic and glass.

Following yesterday’s iPhone logic board leaks, we’ve been treated to more iPhone 6 logic board photos, this time comparing the logic board from the larger, 5.5-inch iPhone to the previously leaked model and also a current-generation iPhone logic board. The source doesn’t even appear to have named which logic board is which, but there are clearly size differences between the various models.

We’ve seen a lot of next generation iPhone part leaks so far, but the latest has given us photos of the purported logic board to add to our collection. And unlike previous leaks, which haven’t really given us all that much information we didn’t already know, photos of the new logic board come with the claim the next iPhone will support NFC and 802.11ac Wi-Fi. In other new iPhone news, Apple has begun production of the 4.7-inch model, with all other next-generation iOS devices, including the next iPad Air, Mini, and even the 5.5-inch iPhone, have been pushed to September timeframes.

If you were expecting more upcoming part leaks this morning, you’ve come to the right place. Home buttons, ribbon cables, rear shells, and other assorted parts have all been revealed. Like every other part leak, no-one’s really sure if these actually will be in the next iPhone, and like most other part leaks, there’s nothing that gives us more information about the next iPhone, such as whether Apple will be releasing the two models separately to avoid competition.

Apple has “tentatively” planned a mid-September launch for the new iPhone, sources say. With iOS 8 nearing completion and iPhone 6 production ramping up any day now, the timing falls in line with previous iPhone launch windows. What’s still unknown, however, is whether we’ll see two models of iPhone at the event. The 4.7-inch model is a given, but there’s a great big question mark hanging over the larger-screened model.

Apple posted their Q3 2014 financial results earlier this morning, and the Apple money-making machine is making more money than ever. Apple had a record quarter, with revenue of $37.4 billion and a net profit of $7.7 billion. Device sales, as graphed by Ars Technica, break down like so: the company sold 35.2 million iPhones, 13.28 million iPads, 4.41 million Macs, and 2.93 million iPods. But the fastest growing part of the business is iTunes, with media and mobile app sales up 25% year on year.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting Apple will prepare a “record number” of iPhones for the next launch, somewhere in the vicinity of 80 million units of the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch model. Both are expected to enter production in the coming weeks, with an expected ship date some time in September.

New photos of the rear shell from the next iPhone show off an inlaid Apple logo, where the speculation says could be designed to light up when a call or message comes in. With little to no evidence of such a feature, though, the more likely explanation is that it’s simply another non-metal window for the antennas.

We continue the iPhone part leaks with the Lightning and audio connectors for the iPhone 6, courtesy of one poster on a forum. While the authenticity of the parts is questionable, to say the least — especially given the photos taken at a strange angle — there’s definitely a chance the parts could be real. In other part leak news, the iPhone 6 front panel we saw earlier may not be sapphire as we originally thought, after being subjected to more rigerous scratch testing. Finally in next-generation iPhone news, mass production of the smaller-screened iPhone 6 is expected to begin this month, with the larger, 5.5-inch iPhone beginning production in August.

No one really knows how sapphire will be used in the next iPhone, but that hasn’t stopped one analyst from throwing his hat into the ring with some predictions of his own. He says sapphire will be in short supply (something that we’ve heard before), and Apple will attempt to limit demand by restricting sapphire covers to the higher-end models of iPhone. Continuing the next iPhone part leaks this morning are the 1,800mAh battery and 13 megapixel camera module.